Twinkle, Twinkle
by The Pregnant Chad
Summary: Hearts don't just vanish... do they? -Under revision.-
1. Prologue: Star Light

Twinkle, Twinkle

**Summary:** Hearts don't just vanish... do they?

**Disclaimer:** When pigs fly.

**Prologue:** Star Light

**Inspirations:** The first two games, their soundtracks, and my shower.

**Dedications:** All the fans who've wanted a weirder, freakier version of a "Kingdom Hearts III" without any damn OC's in it.

It is time…

* * *

Kairi strode into the cool ocean, until her kneecaps had finally dipped in. She smiled warmly at the sky; it looked and felt just like that of Twilight Town's. Considering her want and desire to just fall and let the waves take her, she thought of her friends in the tiny town and how they had their own "secret place," just like that of Riku and Sora's, behind that old chain fence.

Her calves began to prune and her eyes began to water, but she continued to stare upwards. Her thoughts about the past events overcame her, and when that last sliver of sun had eventually set, her eyes hardened with frustration and remorse.

She knew she would never see Twilight Town again. She would never see those tiny people in that tiny town without dreaming of it.

The girl's latest dreams of the place had filled the gap between her sanity and her sanctity. She knew that Radiant Garden, the place she was born a princess, was her throne. She knew that Destiny Islands was her home, where she could be herself. But Twilight Town would certainly remain her favorite place; it was like she was a child craving an amusement park for a family vacation.

The redhead plopped into the ocean, looking sincere, yet pitiable and disgraceful, much unlike a princess. She was being very silly, or so she thought. Her mind had caught Roxas, and she knew that the sorrow she felt about that place was something not to empathize; Roxas's was probably tenfold. He was trapped in the amusement park of his life, Destiny Islands, with no warmth from a nonexistent family, and she knew he desired home.

Kairi sobbed into the sea. She looked up at the darkening sky, wishing to turn back and freeze time, so that she could call Roxas out to see the orange skies and they could, together, miss and yearn for that town while listing the things they liked so much about it.

Then, two things happened at once. Upon her sorrow shone a light of hope, and upon the now blue-black sky glimmered a new star. The girl smiled. King Mickey had told them, in a letter, of course, that things seemed to be returning to normal quite rapidly. The stars that had gone out years ago were being reborn, and sometimes Kairi would witness it. She liked to call that newfound shimmer a "starbirth."

She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her weight atop her thighs, her legs forming a nice upside-down "V." She then shut her eyes and breathed in a handful of fresh, salty air. Though soaked, the girl's confidence had emerged, yet again, in one of her many times of need. Watching that single star, marveling its brilliance, she hummed a familiar tune to herself before crooning out that same song's words.

"Twinkle, twinkle," she giggled, "little star, how I wonder—no, no, no…"

Kairi buried her head into her knees, shaking her head. After a little while of that, she rejuvenated and began again.

"Star light, star bright," she began, with much poise. "First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might… have the wish I wish tonight." Her delicate eyes began to change, from confident to pleading. "Please," she requested of the star, "please let Roxas go back to Twilight Town. He needs it. I… and I need it, too…"

Above, the star twinkled, as if winking, and shot off, leaving the girl in the type of astonishment you can only find at a surprise birthday party.

* * *

Squall Leonhart didn't like Yuffie. Sure, he loved her like a member of his own family and would risk his life for hers, but sometimes, he considered being the one to put her _in_ a life-threatening situation.

The girl had picked up an annoying habit somewhere along the line of her life, where she would pick up a glass full of some kind of fruit juice, lift it about half-an-inch off a wooden table, and drop it, making a "thump" sound and spilling about a sixth of the juice. By the time she was out, she would run back inside, pour some more, and restart.

That didn't annoy him much. At least she was being as quiet as her capability allowed her to be. What annoyed him was Cid's screaming at her at six in the morning for not getting any sleep, leaving the refrigerator door open all night, and continuing her habit for hours on end, wasting the old man's favorite papaya fruit juice.

So, after much time and little thought, he finally went up and asked what the matter was.

She sighed at this, before squirming a little and putting it bluntly. "I miss Sora," she told him. "And I miss Riku. And you know that little friend of theirs that they were looking all over for?"

"Kairi?"

"Yeah, Kairi. Met her once. Nice kid. Miss _her,_ too."

"Well," Leon said, sitting across from the girl and beside her manmade puddle of orange juice, "you know what the King said."

"Yeah, yeah!" she yelled, raising her voice for the first time in quite a while. Then, she proceeded to mimic Mickey in a high-pitched, barely-male voice. "It has been decreed that, for the fate of the worlds to be everlasting, all roads between them be erased. If one world is in need of assistance, Special Forces will be sent, but no roads will be there in order to prevent the spreading of this immense darkness and/or harm to society. Puh."

The man across from her wrapped his hands around the parts of his arms revealed. "You memorized that?"

"I memorize a lot of things!" she shot back.

Leon nodded, deciding not to pick a fight or lecture, simply because he had no idea what to do. All they had where copies of pictures, mostly of themselves, from Jiminy, and a bunch of old, dusty memories. He closed his eyes and sighed, and by the time he'd opened them, Yuffie was pouring three glasses of all different liquids.

"Don't waste that stuff, or Cid'll wake us up again."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "It's not his beloved papaya juice, Dummy."

He looked closer. Upon observation, he'd noticed that she'd poured one glass of plain, white milk (upon the verge of souring), one of strawberry milk, and one of chocolate in between the two. "Wha…?" he began to question.

The girl sniffed. "This," she pointed to the plain milk, "is Riku." She picked the glass up and thumped it once, causing Leon to blink in surprise and curiosity. "This one," she pointed to the strawberry milk, "is Kairi." She picked that one up and thumped it once. Leon sat back, pinching the bridge of his nose as he got the gist of it. Yuffie continued, unaffected by his response. "And this one's," she sniffed, referring to the chocolate milk, "this one's…"

"…Sora," Leon finished, sighing.

Yuffie nodded. "Uh-huh… and together… they're… they're—!" She flung her arms up, spilling all of the contents onto Leon. She breathed in sharply. "_Neapolitan!_"

"Guh!" Leon bounced out of his seat, watching in disgust and horror as the colors blended together (with a little bit of orange juice from the puddle) into a sickly brown, sleeking off his leather but soaking into his jacket's fine fur. "That's it!" he shrieked. "Yuffie!"

The girl looked up, expression both bored and a little sad, but not a bit guilty for what she had done.

"Where's," he started, trying to speedily remove the milk from his clothes as the stench of the souring Riku-milk engulfed around his nostrils, "where's the old you?! You're never quiet, you always get what you want, this… this is the exact opposite! It's annoying and pathetic and—I'm so goddamned sticky now!" He gripped the girl's motionless shoulders. "'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.' Don't you remember that? Isn't that enough?"

And Yuffie had all the nerve to shake her head no.

Leon stomped away from the marketplace, where they had been sitting. As he passed by Cloud leaning on a wall, the spiky-haired man's eyes widened and his nose wrinkled in disgust and the scent of spoilt milk, making for one very funny picture.

* * *

"Roxas?"

The aforementioned boy turned his head, spotting Naminé in the—his— new doorway. He smiled and nodded, silently informing her that she was welcome, and she crept in sleepily.

"Wow," she said, smiling at her friend, "your own room. Finally."

He nodded, still grinning, while fixing the books and random doohickeys resting on his shelves. "Have you completely split apart from Kairi yet?" He turned away to fix his lamp.

The tired girl shook her head. Her plain white pajamas were stainless, contrasting much with the boy's darker room, as if she were a spot covered by a bathing suit after Roxas's room's walls had had a nice, long bake in the Destiny sun.

"I can still hear her thoughts, but I will be soon. Maybe in a month or two."

Roxas nodded, smile transforming into a concentrated frown as he pasted up a picture of the sunset on one of his tan walls. "As for me," he informed her, "I can't really tell. Sora doesn't use his head much, so I haven't been hearing anything as far as thoughts go."

She laughed drowsily, covering her mouth with her long, white sleeve. "Yes. Sora's more in favor of using his heart…"

A comfortable silence emerged upon Roxas's agreeing. However, the noises he made while reorganizing and pushing things into proportion soon made it quite uncomfortable, for Naminé, at least.

The girl shifted, sitting down on the boy's new bed. His sheets, covered in moons and stars, were puffy and good for cushioning, enhancing her tiredness. "So…" she began.

"Huh?"

"Sora's mom let us stay; that was awfully nice of her." She stuck out her finger towards the boy in a parental manner. "Did you say thank you?" she asked, tone much like Sora's mother's own.

Roxas sighed, but smiled again. "Yes, Naminé," he responded, sounding childish. The girl nodded in approval as Roxas continued to decorate his new pad.

"…we still have to go to school soon…"

Roxas frowned, turning towards her. "Oh, don't even get me started."

"…and we have to make it up to Sora and his family…"

"I got it, I got it."

"…and Kairi is quite worried for you."

"Yeah I—wait, what?" Roxas spun around, eyes finding the frowning girl's.

Naminé looked down and shuffled her feet, refusing to take in the boy's confusion. "Yes," she confirmed. "Kairi has been worried sick. She thinks about Twilight Town all the time and how much you must miss the place, and… well, things like that." She yawned. "She also thinks you miss the people there, namely Axel."

The small blond girl observed the taller boy as Axel's name seemed to sting both his body and, one of the objects of the girl's occupation, his heart. "Naminé," he said, frowning, "there's no real need for her to worry. I'm fine here. I mean, sure, I miss Twilight Town a lot and I miss my friends a lot, and I—oh, dear god, I think I may even miss Seifer…"

"No real need to worry, hm?"

"I… no," he told her, as firmly as he could. She looked up. "I'm happy here. The sun may burn my skin and Riku can be… kind of annoying, but, goddamnit, I'll live." And he went on organizing his doodads.

The girl frowned deeply. She knew, quite well, that, though the boy would live, it would be hard and perilous for him. Roxas always seemed to like it that way: tough to climb and not very rewarding at the end. Why couldn't he ever take it easy, like his other?

She also knew very well that Roxas's stubbornness was due to his trying so hard to be an individual, his trying so hard not to fade into Sora again. She sighed. This, she thought, was going to be a tough nut to crack.

Eventually, Naminé's weariness took over her, and she lay down, curling up on Roxas's bedspread.

Roxas froze, minutes after she had gone to sleep. He was very still. In his mind ran thoughts of twilight, thought of his friends, and even some lingering memories of the Organization (again, namely Axel). Eyes tearing, he tried so, so hard to remember Axel again, but memories he had once known were dulling right before his very eyes. He thought that having Axel would keep him different from Sora, and he used this as an excuse, but in reality, he just wanted to see that guy again. Badly.

Damnit, Axel, he thought. You were supposed to have a goddamned next life. We'd meet again, and you'd tell me _everything…_

Roxas silently walked into the bathroom, trying to be as discreet as possible to not wake the girl on his bed. He started up the filtered, heated island water, leaned over the tub, and cried. In both frustration… and sadness. Dignity was evaporating from his very being.

In that moment, both Naminé and Kairi opened their eyes in the night, feeling the pangs of sadness flowing out of Roxas's heart and attacking their own.

What a familiar feeling that was.

* * *

Well…? Should it, you know, go on?


	2. I: The Wizard's Warning

Twinkle, Twinkle

**Summary:** Hearts don't just vanish... do they?

**Disclaimer:** When moose take over Venus.

**I:** The Wizard's Warning

**My Thoughts on the Previous Happenings (sort of important):** Ah, I loved writing Kairi. People only hate her because they think she comes between Sora and Riku or because she doesn't fight as much, but did anyone see any of the other princesses (besides Belle and her kick-ass elbow-thing) fight? Nope. I tried to be very poetic with her; I don't know why. When I wrote out Roxas and Naminé's part, I looked back at Kairi's and said, "Oh, my goodness! This conversation is crap compared to the beginning!" But I do hope it was sufficient enough after the editing. Yuffie's section was something that I wrote to _represent_ how much people already missed Sora and his friends; Yuffie was just more open about it than others, so it wasn't too difficult. Plus, Roxas's ability to "break hearts" (mentioned before as "flowing pangs of sorrow") is kind of like a counterpart to Naminé's ability, and I also feel that he has the capability to cause much grief; it's just in his nature. He hurt Axel, and he even made me a little depressed when I played as him. I was so glad when I switched to happy-go-lucky Sora… ugh; I'm talking far too much… oh! And I made it so that Nobodies are able to gain bodies and hearts by reuniting with their others and then becoming individuals. The only things keeping Kairi and Naminé apart are Naminé's quiet nature and Kairi's horrible art skills (witnessed on the walls of the Secret Place in KH1).

Thank you, thank you, to my two reviewers: DarkDeSkull and Evil StormSister! Your words made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like a freshly-knit sweater snuggling my inner organs. Of course I'll continue, but you have to understand: it'll have a bit of, oh, what do you kids call it again… yoai? Yiao? And, possibly, some… yiru… or whatever it's called. But I'll try not to overdo it with the romance; I want this to be adventurous and centered on friendship, kind of like the games.

Ah, I feel a little bad for putting Sora and Riku in high school, considering all of the stereotypical high school stories there happen to be. Tell you what: anyone who finds me ten of them (they tend to start with the author's favorite character waking up, and introduction of family members, and then how they meet the future wo/man of their dreams) will get a really, really long excerpt entirely about their favorite character/couple. Anyone up for the challenge? Anyone at all?

Now, on with the tour?

* * *

Sweat collected underneath Riku's uniform as he skidded around the island, looking for Sora. The pair of best friends had planned on meeting up later to do what boys usually do after their torturous first-school-day-in-forever: relax, eat cup noodles, and _complain_ their little hearts out.

After much unnecessary exercise and an incident involving helping a little old woman cross the jungle with vines (since there were no streets), he arrived at his favorite little paopu tree, still bent as ever.

He grinned and looked over the area. "Sora?" he called, but there wasn't an answer. He tried a few more times, running around the tree, but nothing was found. Smirking, he whispered, "I guess I beat him this time," to himself.

The boy stretched his arms over his head, gripping onto the bark of the bend in the tree and climbing on. He sat in his ever-popular pose, but heard a slight crinkle beneath his plaid slacks. It was a note. Tearing the tape off, Riku scanned it, concentration dulled by previous adrenaline.

The first lines that soaked in were Sora's words to a T: _Ha! I won!_

"Damn." The white-haired boy deflated; he was not too keen on reading the rest of Sora's message now. Nevertheless…

_Sorry I couldn't be here to say that in person, but King Mickey sent me a letter via bottle saying that his teacher, this "Yen Sid" guy (not sure if you know him), wanted to talk to me. I wonder what for? I'll break it to you when I get back, 'kay?_

_-Sora_

Some silly doodles of Donald and Goofy adorned the bottom of the note, making Riku smile and roll his eyes. The asininity of them, it was just so Sora.

* * *

The brunette's eyes never left Yen Sid's tower, not even when he paid his fee and hopped off a most conspicuous purple train, or, as Roxas had once called it, the ghost train.

He cautiously walked up to the front door, where Pete had once stood peeking. There was no sound this time, though, just a silence eerie beyond all reason. Donald and Goofy weren't requested to come, so he felt a little out of place; after all, he was part of two trios (the other being of himself, Riku, and Kairi), and was hardly alone. A breeze swept by, causing him to shiver and shake all over.

"To knock," he said to himself, "or not to knock?" Shrugging awkwardly, his fist was about to come in contact with the door, when it suddenly flew open, as if some invisible being beside him had just shoved it in violently. Shocked, he rubbed his eyes of illusion and walked in, climbing stair after stair after stair.

He called out when he finally arrived at the last door, and it opened for him, leisurely and creakily.

"Come in, Keyblade Master," called an old voice. Sora considered stalling for a while, but he saw a figure standing by the window of Yen Sid's room. It was the old master himself, who had once trained King Mickey into who he was today. It almost made the boy laugh at how Pete had tried to take down the old man with some pitiful heartless, how he had tried to defeat someone who was probably stronger and wiser than the King (who was able to smack away enemies with one swing).

Sora sat down in front of a small table, facing the wizard's throne-like chair. This place looked as when it did during his last visit: dusty and gloomy. Sora secretly hoped that what this man had to say wasn't something involving bad news.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, big blue eyes filling with childlike curiosity and concern. "Is a world in trouble, or something? Because King Mickey said that Donald and Goofy and I were part of the Special Forces, but they aren't here right now, so—"

"Sora."

The boy stopped. "Uh… yes?"

"Sora," he repeated, "do you know what a Heartless is?"

The brunette nodded, confused. "It's the darkness of someone's heart in some weird, living form."

Yen Sid nodded, still not facing the boy. He also appeared to be holding something with both of his hands. "Yes. The light of the heart is hidden away, making the creature appear like it is made entirely from darkness. It's what happens to a heart that isn't strong enough to fight." He sighed. "Sora, I assume you've already experienced the power and danger of darkness in your battles?"

The boy nodded, silent.

"And you've seen what the darkness can do?"

Another nod.

The old man nodded again. Sora noticed that he looked quite tired and weary, not like during when he'd last arrived. It seemed as though something bad was stressing him out, and all of these questions and mentions of darkness were regretfully telling the boy that he had been right about this being bad news.

Yen Sid continued. "Darkness can do many a great deal of harm. It can also bring back those who agree to do as they say, hence the Heartless and their existence. Hence the Nobodies and their existence." Sora went still. Was this about the Nobodies? Sure, he knew that the Heartless would almost always be around (for, much like zombies, if there was one, there would soon be hundreds), but hadn't the Nobodies been banished to The World That Never Was, specifically? Wouldn't they meet their doom there, and no one would ever see them again? "Sora," called the wizard, snapping the boy out of his questionings. "Have you ever come across Organization XIII's member, Number IX? I believe his name was Demyx."

Sora would've laughed aloud if Yen Sid hadn't sounded so serious. "Yeah, I did. Can you believe it? He ran away from us when we first met." This time, he let out an awkward chuckle.

"Demyx was one of the few that believed Nobodies were more than just empty shells. After his defeat, he chose to resent the darkness, making him different than the others of the Organization. So the darkness cast him out, and… well…"

Yen Sid turned around, tiny pupils covered by his large eyelids. What he was holding before had finally been revealed. In his arms was a bowl of what seemed to be water.

"This is all that is left."

Sora stared and gaped at the simple object containing what was said to be the remains of Organization XIII's late member. How the _hell_ was this possible? It's not like he could've just melted into that stuff! And Sora himself had seen him disappear! How…

Yen Sid finally sat down before Sora. As he did, his hands placed the bowl in front of the astonished boy and pushed it, so that Sora could get a better look. The brunette peered in. It looked just like any old water. The wizard could've stolen this bit from Atlantica for all he knew!

"I've been keeping this safe for demonstration. He wasn't able to fade because darkness rejected him, so there was nothing to fade into. He wasn't able to live because you had taken both his strength and will in your last encounter. So," the old man said, hands wavering over the water, "he became what the Organization wanted so much by doing exactly the opposite of what they did."

The liquid rose with the wizard's fingertips, and once Yen Sid's hands were raised completely, the water, like a puppet, was given back control and had turned to the shape of a heart.

Sora was hypnotized, entranced. Pulses of water overcame the figure, just like beats of a heart. Finally, the shape separated from the bowl, leaving nothing at all, and allowed Yen Sid to hold it up without so much as touching it.

"However," the wizard continued, "once you surrender to the darkness, it will bring you back, time and time again, just as it did for Maleficent. Do you remember? It brings back those who are loyal to it, for, you see, darkness cannot truly exist without wrongdoing; it needs puppets to do the dirty work so that it can survive and thrive. These puppets, the Organization, Pete and Maleficent, and anyone else who is willing to give up their hearts to it do bad things and, as Riku once said, "mess with our worlds" so that they can obtain more dark power in their possession. They wanted to rule Kingdom Hearts, but that large heart in the sky is merely a chamber for all the lost hearts of the people; it's why there are so little people left. What these puppets were really doing was taking away the light and making room for darkness. Do you understand?"

"I… I think so."

"As long as darkness exists in people's hearts, there will, at least, be some commotion. But darkness itself is alive and, as such, wants to grow and spread, so it needs willing helpers, the puppets I mentioned before. It will continue to bring them back, but only if they are willing. Demyx, as you can see, was not. I found his heart in Radiant Garden, hiding away from the Kingdom's sucking force. I've numbed his heart with one of my elixirs; he is unable to turn into a Heartless. The cycle of his life, death, and darkness will not restart without my consent."

"Oh, I see. So…" Sora swallowed, "in theory…"

"The Organization will return one day, but this time, without those who have sought freedom from darkness. Roxas, Demyx, Axel…"

"Axel wasn't willing?" Sora whispered.

Yen Sid shut his eyes and shook his head. "He'd saved you, didn't he?"

"Yes, but—"

The wizard waved at the boy, making a motion for him to cease talking. "This is just a warning, Sora. Be on the lookout for suspicious looking persons in dark cloaks. They are who you think they are."

* * *

Riku came back the next morning to find Sora lying on the beach, stretched out, like a starfish. He rolled his eyes, walking over and then nudging Sora with his foot.

"Kairi was right," he said. "You are a lazy bum."

The white-haired boy frowned, though, as Sora refused to even open his eyes, let alone move. He thought that line would get him up and whining, but the brunette just continued to lie.

"Sora…?" he questioned, sitting down to what could've posed for a cadaver, had he been in his Halloween clothes. Sora didn't respond. Riku bit his lip, balancing each of his arms over both sides of his friend before bending down and listening for a heartbeat.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

There it was. It was so loud, you could dance to it.

Was he unconscious? He certainly wasn't dead. Was he faking? Riku didn't think so. He continued to think there, balanced about a foot over Sora, listing possibilities.

It was then that Sora finally opened his eyes; they were full of haze and fatigue. "Riku?" he asked, and the boy immediately looked down. "What," he yawned, "what are you doing?"

Riku, who'd reddened slightly, climbed up and sat beside Sora. "Checking to see if you were alive. What did you _think?_" Sora opened his mouth to reply. "Never mind," he interrupted, sighing.

The brunette sat up, cautiously, remembering what Yen Sid had told him the other day. He knew he should warn everyone, that he should help them be prepared.

"Riku!" he finally shouted, making his friend turn. "You wouldn't believe it! Ye…"

"…_yeah?_"

But then, something stopped the boy.

Perhaps he didn't want anyone else involved; after all, he'd had a childhood habit of protecting his friends in secret. Maybe it was because the wizard had told only him, and no one else. Whatever the reason, he didn't tell.

He just shook his head and took Riku's hand, attempting to lead the other boy from both the beach, and his growing curiosity. Better to not have anyone else worrying.

* * *

Informative chapter! Yay! And it makes sense to me!

Oh, and if anyone skipped my thoughts on the previous happenings thingy, please go back and read it; it's mucho important.


	3. II: Where, oh Where?

Twinkle, Twinkle

**Summary:** Hearts don't just vanish… do they?

**Disclaimer:** When red turns blue.

**II:** Where, oh Where?

**My Thoughts on the Previous Happenings (sort of important):** Now, why doesn't Roxas remember Axel? What is gonna happen to Demyx? Just what the hell is going on? With all these questions, there couldn't possibly be room for more, could there? Make way, people, it's about to get weirder. I have it all mapped out in my head. One question will be answered, though: what in the world does the summary have to do with anything?

I do love DarkDeSkull for reviewing both chapters so far. Seriously, hun; you requested some of that pairing we were talking about (I wanna make it a surprise) and I said I'd make a really long section on it. But… I've found a way to shape it just right… and now it's sort of monument-sized. I'm actually putting more romance in this thing (I said I'd center it on friendship, but romance is just so irresistible. That's why it's romance.). Yay!

P.S. Hi, new reviewer! Thanks! And don't worry, I've done my research; I'll try my best to make it believable and tasteful. Besides, I'm no good at sex scenes. Too embarrassed to write 'em. Heh…

P.P.S. Whatever pairings you think there'll be resulting of these last few chapters… yeah, you'll just have to read the whole thing to see who gets with whom. And please do!

* * *

This was no hangover. It wasn't sickness. And he was pretty sure it wasn't self-inflicted pain.

This was either a blow to the head with a lead bat, or something was seriously wrong. Had Zexion been messing around with the darkness again? Oh, yes. Yes, he had.

He sat up, feeling dazed. His head felt oddly still, while the rest of his body throbbed and swayed. It was usually the other way around; the boy, more often than not, had his brain rushing around ideas while his body just sat there, a mere vessel for a mind born to be put to work.

Zexion hated this feeling more than not existing, that's for sure.

Where were the others? Was he the first one here? It could've been a millennium from when the whole Kingdom Hearts fiasco first began, or it could've just been a mere day. He didn't know. First, he was dead, the last thing he saw being his murderers, and now, he was alive again, hurting all over and mind halting to a point of stupidity.

He was gonna kick Axel's bony little ass for putting him through this.

The boy groaned, standing for the first time in what felt like years. Looking around, he realized he was in his room, somewhere in the East Wing of The Castle That Never Was. Zexion smiled slightly. He loved this room. Unlike the rest of the castle, it was dimly lit, the only lights being from a petite lamp that sat on his wooden nightstand and anything bright and/or shiny lingering outside his window, like the stars. He could also get a good view of that heart-shaped moon hanging so beautifully and gracefully in the sky from his long balcony.

Stumbling, the blue-haired boy excitedly crawled over to the glass wall that was framed by said balcony, but he saw nothing. Perhaps the curtains are up, he thought.

His gloves gripped the wall as he steadied himself. Walking was certainly becoming one quick pain-in-the-ass, and he'd prefer not to deal with it right now. An idea popped into his pained head; his twitching fingers squeezed the handles of the chair at his desk, and when he'd finally thrown himself onto the seat, he pushed surrounding objects with his arms and hands, making the wheels underneath begin turning.

Avoiding all contact with stairs, he'd managed to get to the other side of the castle, where numbers VII through XIII's rooms were located. Oddly, it felt entirely deserted. Was he _really_ the first one back? He certainly wasn't the first one killed. Maybe he was just the most compliable with darkness…?

Oh, well. It didn't matter. As long as the rest came back soon.

His hard blue eyes drifted to doors IX, X, and XI. He'd remembered when the Superior had first assigned him to show those three the ropes. Vexen had gotten the last two of the Organization, while Xemnas personally took it upon himself to take VII and VIII under his wing, them being the first two non-apprentices.

Those were the days. Demyx would constantly walk around the castle in casual dress and a silly hat of some sort (causing him to get attacked at random by people thinking he was Sora); Luxord would hit on every girl they passed during tours of the worlds, earning a proud, nearly-permanent slap to each cheek; Marluxia would bring full bouquets to those he thought deserving, and Zexion always wound up with big, happy, stupid-looking daisies sitting in his lap.

Marluxia. Zexion sighed, exasperated. When the two had finally found out they were working for separate causes, their little "Teacher's Pet" relationship was through. They didn't speak to each other more than necessary after that.

As for anyone else he'd taken a liking to, they had all departed when their petite blue-haired professor left for Castle Oblivion, request of mission.

He smiled sadly, body drooping and weighing down his little black chair. They'd all died. What was the point in keeping up this stupid feud?

"Eleven?" he called, scooting towards number Marluxia's door. "You alive in there?"

Nothing. Nothing but silence creeping around a big building too clean for words.

Pushing the closed door, he'd moved himself back to the middle of the hallway. He looked down, trying to spot some sort of movement through the transparent floors. Alas, there was just more _nothing._

"Nine? Ten?"

Where _was_ everybody?

* * *

"Ergh…"

Why King Mickey loved putting messages in bottles so much, Donald didn't know. He just knew it was frustrating beyond all reason, picking at the only opening with his fat, fingerlike feathers. Sometimes, he got a strong feeling that this mouse was one that was into practical jokes by the gallon, this sense only fueled after seeing him skip around a fuming Pete down by the Timeless River.

"Donald?" Daisy called tentatively. She tiptoed into the library and up to her sweetie-pie, gripping his shoulders confidently and proceeding to give him an awkward, painful massage. "Calm down, Donald," she told him, while he squirmed under her touch. "It's only a bottle."

"But _Daisy,_" he rasped, "it's got the king's seal on it! And my name! I've _got_ to get it open!"

Donald's honey-bunch rolled her eyes, smirking, as she snatched the bottle from his hands, turned it upside-down, and swirled it around and around until a paper finally fell into her waiting palm.

The male duck silently seethed, making a move to snatch the message away, but Daisy shielded it, stopping him with a single finger to the face. "Ah-ah-ah, not until you tell me what you've forgotten today!"

Guilt immediately took over Donald's face. "Ah… your birthday?" he guessed, before flinching, in fear of a slap to the face.

Daisy blinked in surprise before spitting up some amused giggles. "Aw, it's so endearing that you relate everything to me! But, sadly, no. My birthday's not for months!"

"Can you tell me what I've forgotten, then?" he asked. "Sweetie?" he added.

The femme crossed her arms and smiled. "Silly Donald, you've forgotten to check on the monitor, the status of the worlds… the _Cornerstone of Light!_ What's been on your simple little mind, lately?"

Donald scratched the back of his head. "Ah… that letter?" He pointed to the object in her possession.

She rolled her eyes again and tossed him the paper. "I'm going shopping with Minnie. See you later!"

Donald watched her retreat, recalling his duties. Of course, how could he have forgotten his duties? Well, Daisy _had_ called him simpleminded. He disagreed, as usual, but everyone else knew that the king's two best buddies were a little on the slow side.

He slowly opened the king's letter, being careful not to rip it, as he had often done accidentally in the past. But all that greeted him was:

_Hey, Donald! Listen, could you take Pluto out for a walk and file the papers on my throne? I'm visiting Belle and Beast for tea this afternoon. Aw, thanks! You're a pal!_

On the bottom was Mickey's signature, a black dot with two smaller ones on top of it. It almost made the duck wish he had torn up the message instead of treating this… this _chore list_ with grace.

Slapping his angry feet through the audience chamber, he finally arrived at the Hall of the Cornerstone. Upon careful observation, he'd noticed there were absolutely no thorns, not even a single funny feeling that happened whenever darkness was afoot.

Next, the status of the worlds. The duck climbed up to the third tallest tower on the left side of the castle, where birds that acted as carrier pigeons usually sat and groomed and ate. They all wore miniature spacesuits, as they couldn't breathe in outer space during travel. These birds would fly as fast as they could, delivering messages of alert, requests for assistance, or, in Port Royal's case, SOS's.

"Hey, Donald! Donald Duck!"

Said bird turned, spotting Iago waving his red and blue feathers about in a friendly wave. The duck walked over. "Iago!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah, I know! I finally got in on the Special Forces Air Squad! Can you believe it?"

"You wanted to be here?" Donald asked.

The parrot nodded coolly. "Oh, yeah. I mean, I couldn't sit around the palace forever. I still gotta help out Aladdin and Jasmine! And," he added, "to be honest, being in Agrabah still keeps me on my toes. Jafar was destroyed not too long ago, and I have to let this feeling sink in."

Donald nodded, smiling at the parrot's change of heart. "Has there been any trouble lately, Iago?"

The other bird shook his head. "Naw, not so far! Not since the banishment of the Nobodies!"

The duck nodded again in approval and left it at that.

Next was… the monitor! Not long ago, a machine was installed that kept close watch of every movement occurring The World That Never Was, just in case anything there got out of hand. After Chip and Dale put up its finishing touches, the entire thing was hidden from sight, except for a control panel that would beep loudly at any extreme interference. This device was nicknamed, "the monitor," and it was concealed behind one of the walls in the library.

When Donald had arrived to his starting point, he pulled on a large, blue book, causing a wall to the left of him to slowly lift itself up, revealing a dark, secret room. Only one thing sat in the middle of the room, and that was the monitor.

The duck whistled as he marched up to the device, pulling down a screen and checking its stats. Everything was gloomy as always, and this made him sigh. The screen was clear, except for a little blue dot on the left side of the castle…

"Eh?" questioned Donald. He quickly zoomed in. It was… a kid in a wheelchair?

* * *

Alright, now Zexion was getting paranoid. He'd looked left and right, up and down, in nearly everyone's rooms… where was everybody? Where was _it?_

After observing almost every window in this godforsaken castle, he knew something was missing, and not just the rest of the Organization. It was eerie, to say the least, that he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

His voice had become choked and tired from calling out for people who weren't there. His arms were sore from wheeling around both his body weight and the chair throughout the castle. And every time he tried sitting up, his legs gave out once more, still lifeless from gaining back existence.

The boy eventually gave up and sat in front of the largest window in The Dark City. He'd managed to switch chairs, his rear getting sore from his old office chair, and, since he was sure no one was looking, took the Superior's large, comfy seat at the end of the audience chamber, where meetings used to be held, and spun it around towards the glass.

He sighed into his palm. Was it just him, or was he actually lonely? Perhaps he was just so sad from boredom or fruitless effort. In his tired state, he couldn't tell the difference.

He'd remembered that Demyx had once told him, "You're only lonely because you wanna be. Call up a friend!" No, he thought, I'm lonely because there's nobody here and no again, I have neither a phone, nor available companions.

Luxord had once said, "As cheesy as it sounds, we'll always be there for you, man. Now, you got any rum?"

"Lying Brit," he scoffed, irritated.

And Marluxia had offered advice about this, as well. He said, while planting forget-me-nots in his secret garden outside Beast's Castle, "Get a hobby, and I don't mean reading. That's stupid. For me, it's gardening." Zexion had then remembered telling the pink-haired man that he had allergies before walking off.

Perhaps he was asking for it. After all, he did tend to ignore people, especially while reading. But he'd never grow out of books. Never. No matter how much Marluxia thought they were stupid.

He sat back, searching his mind for a fond memory. Let's see… he'd once caught Demyx dancing alone to the song "Dancing with Myself" blaring out of his boombox. A few of his many card games with Luxord was a good one, when the man had finally agreed to play something that didn't involve gambling or stripping; they'd ended up playing two long games of Go Fish, each winning once, and several rounds of Speed, both building up enough adrenaline to stay up through the whole night, which they did, building card houses and structures. Also, Marluxia had once forced a rose up Xigbar's nose after the man had said something offensive; that had been pretty funny.

Then, there was the BS one. Superior had once told the rest of the former apprentices about how they were shells hollow of emotion, and Zexion didn't know what to think. He'd told his three "students" about this after a tour of Atlantica; all three had almost immediately responded with:

"Bullshit."

And he had to agree.

After all, the variety of personalities you could find in the Organization was a form of proof for him. If they didn't have emotions, then they certainly couldn't have intentions; and if that were true, they'd be no individuals. Ah, simplicity at last.

But… if that were true… what were they fighting for? Wholeness? Did not having hearts sadden them? When the last seven of the Organization had been found, they had perfect emotion, until Xemnas had decided to put a damper on their spirits. Then, they were doubtful, all except for Demyx. He'd convinced the other two of the group, and together, they had all persuaded their rather small instructor that this was indeed the truth.

That wasn't all that was factual. Everyone in the Organization also had a strong sense to live; it's why they lived on in the humanlike shells of their others. But, to do this, they'd have to go over to the dark side, no matter how tempting the light was.

He saw, then, that gaining a heart to call his own was a way of separating himself from his puppet master, darkness. It meant he'd be free, but it didn't mean he'd be safe. Heartless would still be lurking in the corner, waiting to strike, wanting so, so much to devour hearts, even at random.

For now, he could only stick with the dark side of his heart in order to live, after all…

…the darkness made a rather comfortable home. The Organization's one true place of being, where in other places, they were not even regarded as people. Other places, they were just _heartless_ little freaks called _Nobodies…_

It was then that Zexion had finally figured out what had been missing all along. His heart. But not only _his_ heart…

"Wh…" he stuttered, "where the _hell_ is Kingdom Hearts?!"

* * *

This was kind of fun to write… and, while writing it, I got some new ideas. Yay…

And you can't have Kingdom Hearts without Kingdom Hearts, right? That's why it's so damn important.


	4. III: Time with Kairi

Twinkle, Twinkle

**Summary:** Hearts don't just vanish… do they?

**Disclaimer:** When Xemnas is classified as "normal."

**III:** Time with Kairi

**My Thoughts on the Previous Happenings (sort of important):** I've adored the thought of Zexion being Luxord and Marluxia's teacher for a long time, and I just decided to throw in Demyx, because I love that guy. He's so annoyingly adorable, right? And Donald deserves a little more love; my big sis always kept him out of the team party whenever she could. The disappearance of Kingdom Hearts was my initial intention, did you know? Yup!

**DarkDeSkull:** Aw, thanks again, you! Disney character couples are just darling, aren't they? Tell me who else you see there! (Also, I have to thank you. After I applied your requests, even the new coupling, to my story, it was then I knew exactly what to do with this whole project. Thanks, again!)

**Evil StormSister:** Oh! It's you! Sorry, I didn't recognize your name, but now, I look back, and… I feel so stupid for not noticing. Anyway… Zexion is one of my favorite characters, so I had to write him. Some people like him because he's pretty, but I like him because he's smart! (Oh, goodness; it sounds like I'm picking out a date for the prom.) As for Iago, in Kingdom Hearts II, he didn't want to be Jafar's servant anymore; more importantly, he wanted to be good. No one except Goofy trusted him at first, but he kept the lamp with Jafar in it away from Pete, and when he was accidentally released, he took a few blows from the creepy Jafar-genie that were aimed at Aladdin. Finally, everyone saw that he'd turned over a new leaf. I hope that helps! And you should keep playing the game, yo! It's fantastic. Unless you've had to borrow it like me… if that's true, ask me anything you don't understand.

**Bunch-o-Nuts:** Thanks! I'll keep it up!

Alright, I know I need to shut up now, but there's one more thing I have to say:

_Thanks, my lovely readers, for over 100 hits!_

* * *

Roxas held his head in new awakening, trying to refresh his unsteady senses; he wasn't sure when or where he'd fallen asleep, which was never a good feeling. It felt almost like the aftermath of his first official conversation with Kairi, when he'd fallen straight off of the virtual Twilight Town's clock tower.

Picking himself up off the—orange?—ground, his arms were greeted with strong, cool air, much unlike that of Destiny Islands' hot mustiness. This blurry, tangerine world that circled around him was comforting and gorgeous; Destiny Islands at sunset wasn't near comparable in his opinion. He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes closed. He loved this feeling. He _missed_ this feeling. It was as if a yearlong summer had finally completely passed, skipping over to a much needed, paper-crisp autumn.

Then, Roxas opened his eyes, for what felt like the first time, and screamed.

He was in Twilight Town.

What? When? _How…?_ His mind raced and reeled so incredibly, he suddenly felt nauseous, with, luckily, not enough in his stomach to empty onto these pretty streets. He squeezed his forearms and shuddered. "Alright," he whispered faintly to himself, "let's form coherent thoughts, now. No…" And then he couldn't speak. It was impossible to speak. It was impossible to be here. It was just _impossible._

"Hey!" hollered a voice from behind. Shakily, Roxas turned his head and squinted, head now facing the ever-setting/ever-rising sun. Who was that shadowy being? They sounded… angry. And familiar. And a lot like…

What was left of the blond's stomach had finally resurfaced. Seifer, the one and only, but this time, he was the real goddamned thing. Here we go…

"Uah! What the hell, chicken-wuss?" The boy with the beanie fisted Roxas's collar, unintentionally catching the vomit string hanging from the smaller boy's mouth onto his bleached jacket. "I hope to god you intend to clean this up, drunk!"

Roxas's eyes had opened up almost all the way now, this initiated by Seifer's demanding shaking. He was getting sicker and sicker, greener and greener, and the bully's firm grip made it so incredibly hard to breathe.

Then, he shut his eyes and was frantically dropped, hearing a familiar boy's voice kicking and screaming all the way into his unconsciousness.

* * *

Zexion's limbs felt as if they were made of moist dough: sturdy at first, then bending over when he needed them to stay up. He'd avoided moving his weak body for the past two days, and this sudden rush of movement and adrenaline made his breath catch, incidentally, weakening him further.

Every corner he turned, they leisurely stepped around the bend at his tail. It was an endless chase to nothing, and, though tired, the boy was determined to get away from them as fast as he could. He'd just gotten back! He didn't want to be sent into the darkness yet again so soon.

Where in the world was his book? His lexicon? Without it, he was defenseless. _Defenseless!_ Frightened, frail, exposed, and defenseless.

He began to trip over his cloak, falling on both his chin and nose a painful number of times. Voices coming from the next room caused him to pant and stutter. Where was he going? Where could he go? Where could he hide? It was a mystery.

There! He'd spotted his light at the end of the tunnel! The elevator by his room. And as soon as he saw his escape, Zexion crawled faster than before, struggling to stand and press the button. The door, much to his relief, opened immediately; the boy fell inside, body fresh with respite and a new numbness. As the entrance shut, five different Nobodies appeared, ready to fight the intruder. Zexion scowled. "Oh," he panted, "give it a damn rest, already!" The creatures then all stopped, seemed to shrug, and plopped down on the rising floor, dumbly imitating their instructor.

"Well?" asked a teasing voice coming from the large, white, circular room Zexion had just left. "Where is he?"

Donald frowned, large, duck eyes scanning over the six doors that stood like army men and the large, empty space of the room that magnified even the slightest of noises.

"Quiet, Riku!" hushed the bird through his scowl. "I know very well what I saw. A kid! In a wheelchair!"

Sora chuckled nervously behind his hand, recalling Yen Sid's words of warning. "It could be the new Nobody on wheels, Donald! You know how freaky these things can get. Now let's go, already! I'm hungry…"

Riku nodded. "Me, too. And, besides, _anything_ in a wheelchair doesn't seem like that much of a threat."

"Uh, I dunno, guys," sounded a voice from behind. "This could very well be a rescue, or somethin'. Donald?"

"Exactly!" screeched the mentioned, to which Sora considered this and Riku just rolled his eyes, lazily folding his hands behind his head.

As the group continued to bicker, the sixth of the Organization had made his way to a much higher floor containing the Proof of Existence room, otherwise known as the Organization's graveyard. Clutching his chest, the boy coughed, before he connected his hands around the neck of a Samurai Nobody once more. The pale creature then proceeded to give Zexion a piggyback ride all the way to the headstones, being careful not to harm anyone of a higher rank than it.

Panel after panel, he'd finally made it to IX's, X's, and XI's broken ones. He slid off of the back of the taller Nobody, holding up his hand to halt its movement, and traced his hands over the glowing red structure that symbolized both the triumphs and the ultimate defeat of these once great Nobodies. He whispered aloud the contents of the plates, trying to find some sanity and happiness beneath this whole situation.

"Melodious Nocturne, Sitar, IX… Gambler of Fate, Cards, X… Graceful Assassin, Scythe, XI…"

He shivered. These words meant nothing.

"Demyx, Luxord, and Marluxia," he corrected. Yes, these were the right words, the right names.

Again, the question of these people's whereabouts appeared in his mind. What was only a few days of isolation felt more like weeks in a big, boring, lonely wasteland that only consisted of these ghosts called Nobodies who didn't know how to not obey or how to recite music for him or how to play cards with him or how to garden quietly enough for a nice conversation to take place…

Zexion collapsed on the middle—Luxord's—panel, twisting his body upward to read these haunting words. "Where…" he uttered, and fell silent.

Meanwhile, Donald, Goofy, Sora, and Riku stood in front of Zexion's escape elevator, waiting. Sora had just jammed the button in, and small dings resounded every second, indicating both the elevator's effectiveness and its comings and goings.

Goofy scratched his head in thought. "You know," he said, "if no one was here, how come the elevator's not here yet? Someone usin' it?"

Riku crossed his arms and frowned. "That _is_ weird…"

"I _told_ you!"

"That hasn't proven anything!"

Sora smiled. He could tell his friends weren't exactly _adapting_ to each other, but they were, at least, giving an effort. Sort of.

A long, two-second ding sounded, and the doors opened. The sight before them, though humorous, made Sora wrinkle his nose and furrow his brow in confusion. The Nobodies that were supposed to attack them were, instead, on the ground, moving their bodies up and down as if they were panting. They, no smarter than plants, continued to copy Zexion's previous state.

Riku kicked one of the Creeper Nobodies softly. "Uh…"

"Maybe if we ignore them, they'll stay like that?" Sora suggested.

"'kay…"

The four crept in, acting as though the creatures were sleeping dogs, and Goofy pressed the 'close' button, sealing the doors shut. Sora then volunteered to pick a floor, ignoring his duck friend's sputtering, hid his eyes, twirled his finger, and pressed one of the top buttons, the one that led to the thirteenth floor.

Riku scoffed. "Figures you'd pick Roxas's floor." The thirteenth floor didn't actually belong to that Nobody, though. It held the chamber called the Alter of Naught, where Xemnas often came to talk to the missing moon called Kingdom Hearts.

"I didn't do it on purpose! My eyes were covered!" Sora whined in protest, making Riku laugh aloud. The Nobodies didn't even stir.

When the door opened, the whole room was dark. Donald didn't even hesitate to squawk at Sora, yelling about wasted time, though they had only used up an extra three minutes. Riku sighed and shrugged the shoulder that he wasn't leaning on, silently informing Goofy to press another button. The dog nodded and pushed button number nine, completely ignoring the giant heart's disappearance as the doors shut once more.

Zexion rubbed his eyes sleepily as four different voices talking at once awoke him. He groaned. They _still_ hadn't left?

The boy ducked down behind one of the broken stones, snapping his thin fingers. The loyal Samurai Nobody that had carried him evaporated into the ground, turning into white and gray thorns as it did. Once the blue-haired boy had been sure all noticeably conspicuous signs were gone, he held his breath and waited for the intruders to pass.

"He's gotta be here somewhere…"

"What, this mysterious kid in a wheelchair?"

"He exists! I saw him! Or her…"

Zexion frowned. Kid in a…? Oh. That was him. A—did that duck just call him a woman?

"Donal—"

"Quiet, Goofy!"

"Are you sure you were healthy when you checked that thing?"

The duck fumed, his whole head turning bright red and steaming. "Shut up, Riku! Just shut up!"

And he did.

"Now," he said, once calm again, "we have to be quiet. The elevator took a while getting up here, so I have a feeling that whoever I saw is up here somewhe—"

A large sneeze interrupted everyone.

Zexion instinctively covered his mouth and held his breath, though he had not been the one careless enough to make the noise. "Riku…?" he heard Sora whisper, "please tell me that was you." The white-haired boy must have shaken his head, because Zexion didn't hear anything in response.

Only tiny footsteps took place after that. One pair of feet stopped, and Zexion clenched his jaw.

Riku shuddered. "Kairi was right," he spoke softly, "this place _is_ like a graveyard." Donald shushed him, and the group walked on.

Zexion let out a long, relieved sigh. This was just not his day. He blinked wearily, about to summon back his Samurai, when he heard someone chuckle into his ear.

"Heh," the voice whispered, words hot on the boy's ear, "hiding, too?"

The blue-haired boy slowly turned his head to the left and almost let out a shriek. "…Xigbar!"

Xigbar laughed. His head was upside-down, popping out of the ceiling, right next to Zexion's. "I couldn't hold it in, man."

Zexion almost smiled. "Is anyone else back?"

"Well hello to you, too. And no, from what I've seen."

The boy didn't even deflate. "Well, whatever," he said, relief showing in his tiny grin. His theory had been correct: they'd all come back eventually.

The man chuckled and ducked his head into his portal, reappearing right-side-up, leaning on one of the headstones. "But I do know something," he continued. "The others are back in their hometowns, yeah." He jerked his thumb behind him, indicating the others being elsewhere.

Zexion blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, I know. Twilight Town and Radiant Garden are really closed off, which is why we ended up here, but I saw Marly wandering around Beast's Castle, Lux at the Port, Saï—"

"Alright," the boy interrupted, "I don't really care about Saïx." He ignored the other's 'You're a real cold dude' comment. "What about Demyx?"

Xigbar shrugged. "How should _I_ know? I just saw these things, like I was there, but no one could freaking _see me,_ and then I fell asleep and woke up here. I saw everyone except Axel, Roxas, and Dem."

Zexion bit his lip. Where was Demyx? Had he gotten lost in the darkness, or something like that? The guy never had a very good sense of direction. Did he get attacked? _Eaten?_ Or…

"Little man?"

The boy looked up. "What?"

"You were spacin' out."

Zexion shook his head. Even Xigbar had noticed him not keeping his cool, and now was sure as hell not the time to be blank in the brain. "Sorr—hey!"

He pushed the man back behind one of the other panels, ducking behind another and hushing his pissed companion. They were back.

"I told you there weren't any stairs. We have to take the elevator again."

"What's wrong with those Nobodies in it? Were they sleeping, or what?"

"I dunno. Let's check the next top floors; I thought I heard that sneeze come from above us."

"Okay, Goofy."

One set of footsteps halted, just like before. A big sigh was let out after that. "Uh… guys?" Sora called tentatively. All of the feet stopped making noise.

"Yeah, Sora? What's wrong?" asked Riku.

"I…"

"Go on, Sora," Goofy encouraged.

"Well… I've been thinking about this for a while. And, I can't not tell you. You wouldn't believe what I saw at Yen Sid's."

Donald gasped. "You visited the king's teacher?! Sora—"

"He called me there!" Sora interrupted. "He wanted to see me, and tell me that…"

"…he… wanted to train you?"

"No."

"He had something for the king?"

"No, Donald."

"He loves you?"

Sora stuttered. "Riku! NO!"

Riku laughed vigorously. "Then what is it, Sora?"

"He… well… he told me about how the darkness was really, really powerful and how it brought back Maleficent and that it was gonna bring back the Organization except for Axel 'cuz he chose not to come back and not that Demyx guy either because he was a puddle in a _bowl_ on Mr. Sid's desk," Sora paused for a large gulp of air, "and that we were gonna have to find a way to stop the Organization for good. I don't remember anyone in the Organization in a wheelchair, but the fact that someone just sneezed is seriously starting to freak me out!"

Sora was panting through the silence.

"Wo-o-ow," said Donald.

"Sora…" whispered Riku.

The rest was all nothing to Zexion. As soon as the group left, the boy grabbed the nearest person's—Xigbar's—cloak collar and widened his eyes so that they looked extra scary and demanding.

"_Demyx_ is a _puddle?!_"

* * *

Kairi spun and danced in circles. It was a miracle! A _miracle!_

She was in Twilight Town!

Taking on a very different approach on the matter than Roxas had, she twirled on her tiptoes and did cartwheel after cartwheel, no matter who saw under her skirt.

This place was beautiful. It was made up of different shades of her second favorite color, had a beautiful sunset that lasted way longer than that gum on those commercials, and was chock-full of friendly people. She didn't care that they were strangers. In fact, she slightly preferred it.

When Kairi was left on the island without her two best friends, she became almost used to being alone. Of course she cared about her friends, but sometimes, she felt a little left out when Sora and Riku were away, doing things as complex as saving worlds or things as simple as competition on the beach. She'd become so used to being alone with her thoughts, she forgot what having company was like.

For example, the first thing Sora did when the three best friends were finally alone was go out to buy some old, homegrown food from the mainland and some tropical drinks (these, he'd missed so much) with his astounding amount of munny for Riku and Kairi. After they'd finished, Sora invited the two to go back to Destiny Island to dip their toes into the sand they hadn't felt for over a year. Kairi had, much to Sora and Riku's surprise, declined. She thought it was because she'd been waiting on that island since she'd remembered Sora again and had felt the sand many times before, but really, she wanted something else.

In truth, she wanted her own little adventure now that her friends were safe and sound. She wanted to go off and vanish for over a year, only to return with fresh stories and many, many new friends. It wasn't fair that Sora and Riku always had to do the fighting. How they always had to do the saving.

Kairi had changed. Drastically. And her own adventure had already begun when she, somehow (she didn't even know), left her home for Twilight Town.

"Hey, you're okay! We thought you were kidnapped for good!"

Kairi spun around and gasped at the person behind her. "Olette!"

The girl nodded. "Yeah… were you dancing?"

Kairi grinned. "Uh-huh! Wanna dance, too?"

Olette laughed quietly. "What made you so happy? And what happened with that one guy?" She began twirling her auburn curls around her fingers.

Kairi paused to think. "Uh… well, actually, he let me go… here… and I'm gonna be here for a while."

Her friend smiled. "Great," she said, a friendly and welcoming tone in her voice. "Want me to show you around?" Kairi nodded politely. "Okay, now, there's Market Street over there, the Sandlot, and, oh, I _must_ show you Sunset Terrace…"

After an hour of walking this way and that, the two girls stopped at the terrace for some ice cream, and Kairi had her eyes glued to the most beautiful skies. The moment could've been romantic, but the girl hadn't found the one she'd love forever yet, so she could only love herself right now. It was then that she noticed her craving to see and talk to Sora and Riku, if only for a minute. She was so very lonely, even when someone she considered a friend was right there, sitting next to her.

She blinked her eyes and yawned. When was this adventure going to be over with?

A small, blue sliver caught her eye. Was that… water? Was that a…

"…beach?"

Olette frowned. "Excuse me?"

Kairi's eyes widened. "Oh, no. I said 'beach,' not… well, is that thing down there… is that a beach?"

Olette nodded, turning her attention to where Kairi's finger was pointed. "Yup." She licked her sea-salt ice cream. "Ocean and starfish and all. Where do you think we get all this salt for the ice cream?"

Kairi stood up. "Can we go? I mean, I hope I'm not being a burden…"

Olette shook her head. "O'course not. I have plenty of time, but not much munny, though."

"I don't care about the munny," Kairi said. "I just… need to see the ocean right now."

Olette understood.

They'd finished their desserts by the time they made it to the beach, and Kairi ran straight in. She desperately needed to feel some water on her ankles.

Olette presumed it was because the girl was homesick. While telling about how she was looking for her friends, she'd mentioned islands and beaches being her home, hadn't she?

But the reality was that she was both homesick _and_ she needed time to herself, causing her emotions to scramble and intersect. Therefore, the girl felt she needed time alone, time with the waters. She needed time with Kairi.

Olette took off her shoes and socks and, not wanting to litter, placed their ice cream sticks into her clean, white shoes. She walked up to the taller girl in the ocean and said, "Welcome to the sea, Kairi."

But the redhead could've sworn she'd heard her say "Welcome home" instead.

* * *

Well…? Sorry I haven't updated in so long, by the way. Very, very short writer's block. Shortest I've ever had, at least.

And I know I'm already talking too much, but I just have to say: "Dancing with Myself" (as mentioned in chapter two) is one of the perfect theme songs for Demyx. And, I think, "The Windmills of Your Mind" is an awesome theme for my interpretation of Zexion. They're both great songs! And did you see what I did in the last chapter? Zexion's not all "We don't have feelings!" He _believes._ I was kind of tired of all these stories where he doesn't. Oh, and "Human" (by Civil Twilight) is just the most perfect song for Riku, "Not As We" (by Alanis Morissette) is awesome for Riku Replica and/or Naminé and/or the Organization, and the opening theme to .hack/SIGN is good for Roxas. You know, in case anyone wants to make any AMV's or whatever. I'd totally watch it if you did. See ya later!


	5. IV: The Other Promise

Twinkle, Twinkle

**Summary:** Hearts don't just vanish… do they?

**Disclaimer:** When boba snow bubbles stop tasting absolutely fabulous.

**IV:** The Other Promise

**My Thoughts on the Previous Happenings (sort of important):** _Why_ do I love Twilight Town so much? I made my characters love it, I made Kairi and Roxas go there somehow (Yeah, I know exactly how they got there. Sorta.); heck, that's not even the end of it! Oh, man… I have problems. Anyway, I think you're going to like this chapter. It has a certain someone in it that I bet you all miss like hell (How he died was so freaking sad and unsatisfying…). And, of course, more Twilight Town.

**DarkDeSkull:** Oh, thanks! You're darling. I can include more of the Twilight gang, if you want. They're adorable, aren't they? Except Pence. He moves his hands around too much and it confuses me to no end, as does his hair. And his shirt says "Dog Street." That's not cute. But, what the hell, I'll put him in anyway.

**Evil StormSister:** You're welcome. I dunno; it was a joke I couldn't resist putting in. I'm glad it made you guys laugh!

**diamond-princess2006:** Thank you! I'll try to update earlier, if I can. My writer's block is gone! Yes-s-s…

**Bunch-o-Nuts:** Thank you very much. I don't really know what else to say, but I have to thank you, especially for the luck!

_My goodness, is there no end to your brilliance? I just thanked you last time for over 100 hits, and now, I have to thank you again for over 200!_

* * *

"So, what's the plan again?"

Zexion sighed, scratching at his jeans. He held his lexicon tighter in an attempt to stay focused, but both his mind and body were still suffering weariness. Earlier, Xigbar had recommended the use of portals, as he often utilized, but the boy refused, claiming that he was saving his dark energy for later encounters and that Xigbar was just being lazy.

"The plan," Zexion began, "is to bring both ten and eleven back to the castle. With their help—"

"Wai-wai-wait," Xigbar interrupted. "We're not gonna find anyone _else?_ I have all the info still stuck in my head. Where they are, what—"

"No." Obviously, the two had problems communicating, disrupting each other this way and that like they did. Both of them wanted to do things a certain way, and the boy was now sure that he'd have been better off if Saïx had come back first, for at least _he_ could take orders and not butt in every few sentences with his unsuited lingo.

"Why not, huh?"

Zexion rolled his eyes. "God knows no one else will help us with this. Now, with the help of ten and eleven, we can retrieve Demyx and restore him to his previous state before anyone else finds their way back."

Xigbar frowned. "Okay… what then?"

The boy shrugged. He really hadn't thought of that. "I'm making it up as we go."

"And _why_ are we dressed like _this?_"

Zexion blinked and shrugged. "What, normally? It's called _incognito._ If anyone catches us with our cloaks on, we're dead men, especially with my weak physical state and your using up dark energy."

"And Kingdom Hearts?"

Zexion heaved a large sigh. "I don't… we'll… get to that later. After we get… reinforcements."

"_Next stop, Twilight Town Central Station."_

The large purple train creaked, making it seem much older than it appeared. With no one else aboard, the train rode more easily and wobbly, like a prisoner just freed from his ball and chain. "Do we get off at the next stop?" Xigbar questioned, face leaning over and arms resting on his lap.

Zexion opened his book. "Technically, yes. The train stops there, but it won't start again for a while, so we'll have to get off anyway. Once we arrive in Twilight Town, we'll have to stock up on potions and whatnot. After recovery, we'll be ready to teleport and make our way over to…"

"Port Royal and Beast's Castle," the other filled in.

The boy nodded. "Precisely. Then, the four of us will go over to The Fabled Countryside, which, from what I can see," he explained as he traced his fingertips along a random page, "is where this 'Yen Sid' character lives. The one to which Sora had mentioned, the one who has De—nine."

Xigbar nodded and yawned loudly, this gesture representing his chronic boredom. After less than a mere minute of just sitting there, looking out at the scenery and occasionally finding interesting patterns in Zexion's book's cover, he began tapping his hands on his knees, crooning out a familiar tune.

"Daylight come and me wan' go home…"

The other looked up, not annoyed, but suddenly curious. "Why are you helping me with this?"

Xigbar slowly released a mouthful of air through a small hole his lips had formed. "'s'not like there's anything better to do, man. And I'm not really welcome anywhere else, anyways. 'sides, the castle's bugged, so _it's_ not safe _either,_ and it was our freakin' home."

Zexion frowned, perplexed. "What?"

Xigbar nodded. "Yup. Teleported around with my hood up after I got this… funny 'sixth sense' feeling. Found little camo'd cameras all over the place. That's how they knew you were there, mister 'Woman-in-a-wheelchair.'"

Zexion gaped, sinking into his seat. How foolish of him to not even consider… of _course_ the "good guys" would be more prepared this time. Sora wasn't the smartest or the most influential, so this was probably the king's doing. Xigbar was right. The Organization's home was no longer safe. It had been broken into and virtually vandalized. An unfamiliar anger rushed through his senses.

"_Welcome to Twilight Town's Central Station…"_

* * *

"Roxas!"

The boy grunted, aching and tired. Time for school. The fossilized sun shone through his eyelids, glaring as he dared stay asleep. It's funny, he thought he'd set his alarm clock right around now. Why'd Olette have to wake him up? It's not like he had the summer homework; from what he could recall, Hayner had it.

"Roxas, wake _up!_"

What was wrong with Olette's voice? She sounded a bit less sweet than she usually did. Maybe she had something. And why did his bed feel so… rough? He sighed. Forget making the bed, he thought. I'll have to change the sheets before I leave. This mattress feels like dirt.

"Roxas, you're in Twilight Town! This is no time to sleep in! We've got things to see!"

The blond frowned. What exactly was so damn important about being in Twilight Town? He lived here! There was nothing to see. Olette must've eaten too much sea-salt ice cream. Besides, they had school. Wow, he thought some more, it feels like forever since school. Summer vacation must've really taken its toll on me.

"Roxas, you lazy bum! Up!"

He suddenly felt shoving to his side. Olette was really mad, for some reason. And that "lazy bum" thing, did she get that from Kairi? Kairi…

"C'mon, Kairi," slipped croakily out of his mouth, and he recognized it almost immediately as one of Sora's sayings. He suddenly realized that this was _Olette_ he was talking too, not his imaginary dream-people "Sora" and "Kairi," and he opened his eyes to apologize.

But what he saw brought his position straight up. Kairi was smirking down at him. "Finally, he wakes up," she said, before standing up and cupping her hands around her mouth. "Hey!" she hollered, excited and ignoring Roxas's shocked expression. "He's awake!"

Ri-i-ight, the lazy side of him pondered. Kairi and Sora _do_ exist. That means that his whole adventure around thirteen whole worlds and back wasn't a dream, and that his eyes should've been bugging out of his skull at the fact that he was laying down in the Usual Spot, in Twilight Town.

Three relieved, grinning faces popped up around the entry, and all Roxas could do was gape at them. These were his friends, but at the same time, they weren't. Because Kairi was here (and because she couldn't have possibly known how to enter the virtual Twilight Town), this had to be the real thing, and the people in the doorway just _had_ to be the real life Hayner, Pence, and Olette. They weren't simply programmed specimens in DiZ's control; they were real people, flesh and all.

Roxas frowned. _Because_ they were real, they couldn't have been his friends, and it was hopeless for them to know him, for everything in his normal, yearlong 'Twilight Town' mindset was faker than waxed fruit.

Nevertheless, Hayner's glad and familiar shout of "Roxas!" that had sounded during the group's entry caused a glimmer of hope to uncover itself deep inside his soul.

"That's your name, right?" Hayner continued. "Roxas? That's what Kairi said…"

Olette smiled sweetly as the boy picked himself up; she assumed his averting their eyes was due to shyness. "Never heard anything like it," she complimented, but all the comment did was rain on what little hope he had left of them remembering anything about him.

The Twilight Town gang all retreated to their common relaxing positions (Hayner leaning on something tall, Pence and Olette on their favorite loveseat) in an attempt to make Roxas feel more comfortable. Kairi was bending her legs and peeking under Roxas's bangs, worried as the boy wouldn't do anything but stand there, looking awkward.

After a few moments, it finally became too much to bear. Having these happy, friendly, smiling people in the room (which were the models for his three unreal friends' impressions) frustrated him. They weren't jumping around, saying things like, "We missed you, Roxas!" In fact, all they were doing to make him feel welcome was sit there. He was wrong; they were his friends. But, at the same time, he was right; these weren't _his_ friends. They had the personalities, which he knew all too well, but they were only strangers.

So he rushed out, ignoring Kairi's worried yelps for him to come back.

At first, he had no idea where he was going to go. In Sora's memories, they'd simply ride away in a gummi ship, but he wasn't Sora; he had no appetizing-sounding transporter. He ran helplessly around town, out into the Sandlot, then up to Market Street, Station Heights, and the Central Station, before resting on a train heading towards the Sunset Terrace district.

After exiting, he stood stiffly. The wind blew, and knew exactly where he wanted to go. The location was practically calling him.

The boy had made his way up to the clock tower, a place that wasn't foreign to him, and a place he'd known of even before he'd left the Organization.

It was eerie being all alone on the edge of this thing. He didn't exactly feel frightened, but he did feel… odd. Not out of place, but merely lonely. People had been acting friendly towards him for nearly his whole life, and he'd supposed that he'd just gotten used to it.

Roxas brought his knees up to his chest, folding his arms on them and resting his head. He was tired from running, so both adrenaline and the thicker-than-usual elevated air up there was clogging up his ability to contemplate his situation, like chewing gum lodged inside the cogs of a clock.

A small, almost curious ringing emerged from behind him. Not on both his sides (for there were two large bells in Twilight Town's clock tower), like it usually did every hour, but from directly _behind him._ It was more like tinkling, actually.

He peeked behind his back, almost expecting a friend, but instead, he found a petite Heartless gently lingering in the breeze. It was in the shape of a bell, and it was a nice shade of red. He'd remembered flipping through Jiminy's Journal back at the islands; this thing was called a "Red Nocturne."

Roxas summoned his Oathkeeper and halfheartedly swung at it, but the being ceased to leave him alone; all it did was back away from the key. The boy's eyebrows dipped down. He cautiously put away his Keyblade and waved at it, as if greeting it, almost expecting fireballs to start attacking him right then and there. For some reason, though, he allowed his guard to be let down.

The Heartless only swung around, ringing quietly. Roxas blinked. The thing actually sounded kind of… happy. And he'd never heard these types of Heartless actually make sounds before; they were too busy fighting to notice.

It flew around the blond in circles, eyes closed in delight, before plopping itself in his lap.

Great, Roxas thought. This Heartless wants to be friends. Nevertheless, the boy smiled as these thoughts crossed his mind. In the end, he ended up back at the Usual Spot, apologizing to the group, the sleeping Red Nocturne still cradled in his arms. This whole thing—being friends with someone without a heart—made him feel a little bit better about the fact that he had to share one.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Kairi. Hold on a minute… Sora, I swear, if you don't stop _leaning_ on me…"

Naminé giggled. The duo had been so worried about Kairi and Roxas's disappearance, and Sora wouldn't stop pressing his ear to the other side of Riku's cell phone as they attempted to talk, trying to discreetly check up on their friends, in a way. The older of the two would then fluster angrily, so Sora would teasingly wrap his arms around Riku's shoulders and squeeze the living darkness out of him. Only the Keyblade master had been with the white-haired teen long enough to know what embarrassed him.

On the other end, Kairi laughed in unison with her Nobody. "Yeah, guys. I'm completely fine! And Roxas is… Roxas… why are you holding _that?_"

Sora blinked as he heard these words. "What's he holding?" he asked.

"Ah…" Kairi began, "nothing important, just his… Keyblade! I'm wondering why he… has it out, and all…"

"Oh," Riku replied, before tossing his free arm in the air as a sign that he'd given up on struggling free from Sora's embrace. "Anyway, where are you guys? We have to get you back here; it's protocol, remember?"

"Right," whispered Kairi, "about that. I'm thinking… I wanna stay here for a bit. You know, like a vacation."

Riku shook his head, even though the girl couldn't see. "Kai, it's the king's rule. You can't just go where you want to _vacation._"

"But, I'm an exotic vacationer!" she retorted. "I need to see things!"

"Well…" Sora sighed, worried, "what about Roxas? You can't just drag him along, like tha—"

"Roxas doesn't mind! Do you?" she said, interrupting. No response came from the boy. "See? He shrugged! I swear he did. But he might not've heard me—Roxas! It's not your baby! Stop playing rock-a-bye!"

Riku nearly scoffed, thinking that her shouts were pathetic excuses for distractions. "Kairi…"

The girl's silence indicated that she was thinking. "Well then," she said finally, "I'll only tell you where I am when I want to leave."

The other smirked as Sora frowned, worriedly. "Nam?" he asked, making sure Kairi could hear. "Where is she?"

"Uh… well, my connection's weakening, but I'd say she's in Twilight Town."

Kairi squeaked.

"Please," she begged softly. "I need this! You've been all over, and I've just been on that island, forever, waiting for you two bums… don't you owe me at least a little time off?"

The whole room paused in thought, before Riku heaved a sigh. "If anyone asks," he replied, almost as quietly as she did, "and by that, I mean the _king,_ this phone call never took place."

And he hung up. Sora was still frowning sadly. Naminé appeared concerned. And Riku was clearly annoyed, making him look like a total outcast.

"Sora…" he mumbled, blushing. "Let go."

* * *

I'm sorry it's so unsatisfying! Above, I said you might've liked it, but it turned out _blah!_

And it's so short, too. I want to write more, but I have homework. Another reason to hate the stuff, huh?

Hey… if it's not too much trouble, could someone draw me Roxas with a Red Nocturne at some point in their lives? Maybe post it on DeviantArt? That is, if they want to. I'll totally do it, too, when I finish my Bio; I might even buy that new tablet I've been saving up for today (after I go see The Dark Knight)! Besides, I just think it'd be a cute image, is all…


End file.
